Fascinating and poetic — but what does it mean? The little slip of paper followed me around for many months, but finally today I searched and found its source: the first chapter of the Tao Te Ching, an ancient Chinese book of Daoist philosophy attributed to Laozi. Many other translations exist, but most are impenetrable or clunk-ugly. This one, by J. H. McDonald, seems to strike a balance between accuracy and beauty. Add it to the reading list ...